Learning Conditionals Through A Christmas Carol

This is a video made for my mini-project 2.

Homework 5: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Last Dance in How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother - Ted's last dance from Jonathan C on Vimeo.

Response to Chapter 8: Learning in a Community

The ability to work by oneself and with others are equally important. However, in the traditional way of education in Taiwan, working by oneself is emphasized more in the secondary school. Students who study in a competitive environment might regard others as their imaginative enemies, so teaching others are seen as a waste of time for studying. During the process of studying, they ignore the importance of collaboration and cooperation which they will encounter later at work in society. Students have more opportunities to work with others in the university in Taiwan. For example, study group is a very effective way to discuss literature: every group member discusses the plot and his or her interpretation to the plot. Sometimes there are some different interpretations to the same plot with reasonable explanations. When I took educational linguistics at graduate school in the US, we were required to form a book circle for the discussion of Pinker’s book “The Stuff of Thoughts.” At first, everyone just posted their reflection on the assigned chapter, but the professor encouraged us to response to each other’s post. Therefore, the discussion was getting more interesting. Since “Stuff of Thoughts” was not an easy book for international students because Pinker uses examples in American daily life to illustrate the linguistic concepts. I posted some of my doubts about the examples in the chapter, and my American group member would answer my questions with her native speaker’s knowledge. Sometimes, I also gave some examples of Chinese to expand the examples Pinker gives in the chapter. In the discussion, we were trying to share what we knew to those who didn’t know, so that in the end everyone would expand his/ her knowledge. In the Teaching Second Language Reading class, we worked in pair to give peer review feedback to each other’s reading project. It was easier to praise than to give constructive suggestions, and it was also easier to criticize than to give explanations of criticism in a polite manner. Therefore, I spent quite a time writing the feedback that I hoped to be helpful. While giving peer review feedback, I learned to communicate with others while giving my honest opinions; while receiving feedback, I learned to accept others’ suggestions. Sometimes, my partner seemed not to understand the points I was trying to make and gave a suggestion that showed his misunderstanding. I would explain to him verbally again and revised my sentences to be more readable. Receiving peer review feedback motivated to write my papers for my readers (the professor and the partner). Learning with others always makes learning more practical, inspiring, and fun.

Response to Chapter 7: Scientia Potentia Est

Some Chinese citizens reported to the Chinese authorities earlier that the queries in Google China led to the results of pornography. Therefore, the China government forces Google, the world’s largest technology company, to block the non-Chinese websites in the search engine in China. Before this case, Microsoft Hotmail and micro-blogging site Twitter were also shut in China because of reporting the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. However, China’s online censorship cannot deny the fact that information is exploded in the twenty-first century. In fact, it is not easy to control the source of information since it is produced in a very fast speed in various forms, such as books, Internet, and media. Yet not every piece of information is constructive to knowledge, the product of people’s consciously constructing the information they need. In this chapter, the authors’ indication of Francis Bacon’s “information as power” is no longer valid for now, since everyone can easily find the sources of information. What Bacon really means is not information, but knowledge that endows people with power. Those who have information without knowing how to use it effectively are like those who have money without knowing how to spend it wisely. As a result, people need to develop the ability to sort out the appropriate information for their knowledge use. The Latin maxim “Scientia Potentia Est,” paraphrased as “knowledge is power,” is verified when people know how to manage the information.

China orders Google to block websites
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25668043-36418,00.html

Response to Chapter 9: Assessment

Students are motivated by tests under a text-oriented learning environment. The purpose of learning is to get good grades in the exam, just as what the authors said to the traditional assessment practices, “if it can’t be tested, it isn’t worth teaching.” Assessment is placed before teaching and learning. However, students’ motivation of learning disappears after finishing the exam, and their passion for learning will dwindle in the long term. People should be life-long learners to encounter the fast changing world in the twenty-first century, and teachers are aware of the importance of teaching higher-level thinking. Nevertheless, most secondary school teachers worry that the training of students’ high-level thinking might hinder their test performance, which the authors consider an unfounded fear. The authors suggest that there should be various forms of assessment to measure students’ real performance instead of only one standardized test judging students’ ability to recall what they have learned. In recent years, passing the college entrance exam is not the only way to get into university in Taiwan. Students can also apply for university when they perform well in certain fields at school. Therefore, even if the join college entrance exam is still the major gate-keeping assessment, teachers need to educate students’ attitude toward assessment by prioritizing learning before assessment: “if it’s worth learning, it’s worth assessment.” Next, teachers should consider using various forms of measuring students’ ability. Giving feedback from multiple sources of audience, one of the forms of assessment the authors recommend, is very effective for me when I was a college student. I was motivated to write more whenever I received the professors’ comment and peer critique. I was shy to speak up in class, but in writing I felt that my voice had been heard and understood (though they do not necessarily agree with my argument in writing). I had not found the passion to learn until then. It was a pity that this moment came so late that my learning experience was driven by the tests before college. Consequently, it is important that secondary school teachers should try to evaluate students’ performance individually rather than ranking them by the test scores. The types of assessment can influence students’ motivation and quality of learning.